Jonah 2:9 Complex by Tyler Burns

Christ’s Glorious Obedience

“But the glory of his obedience becomes more wonderful when we realize who he was who thus obeyed God. He was none other than the Son of God made man. He who was in heaven, above all, Lord of all, lived in the world, having no earthly glory or reputation, obliged to obey the whole law of God perfectly. He, to whom prayer was made, prayed himself night and day. He, to whom all the angels of heaven and a creatures worshipped, fulfilled all the duties which the worship of God required. He who was Lord and master of the house became the lowliest servant in the house, performing all menial duties. He that made all men in whose hand they are all as clay is in the hand of the potter, observed among them the strictest rules of justice, in giving to everyone his due, and out of love giving good things to the undeserving. This is what makes the obedience of Christ so mysterious and glorious.” (Taken from The Glory of Christ by John Owen, page 59)

Feeling Alone?

Hey people! I was just reading this passage from Psalms 139 and felt lead to share it with you. I am rocked that the God of the universe knows little me THIS well! For someone who feels lost and worthless, you are found and worth something with God. For anyone who is feeling alone, God is always with you, no exceptions. For those who believe that no one can feel what you are going through, God is right there with you. He feels your pain better than you can feel it yourself. And for everyone who lives as though they have no purpose, He created you! Your purpose is in Him! I pray you are uplifted by the words of Psalm 139:1-18:

“1 O LORD, you have searched me and known me! 2 You know when I sit down and when I rise up; you discern my thoughts from afar. 3 You search out my path and my lying down and are acquainted with all my ways. 4 Even before a word is on my tongue, behold, O LORD, you know it altogether. 5 You hem me in, behind and before, and lay your hand upon me. 6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high; I cannot attain it. 7 Where shall I go from your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from your presence? 8 If I ascend to heaven, you are there! If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there! 9 If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, 10 even there your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me. 11 If I say, “Surely the darkness shall cover me, and the light about me be night,” 12 even the darkness is not dark to you; the night is bright as the day, for darkness is as light with you. 13 For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb. 14 I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well. 15 My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth. 16 Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them. 17 How precious to me are your thoughts, O God! How vast is the sum of them! 18 If I would count them, they are more than the sand. I awake, and I am still with you.”

Who is the real Savior?

This is for the men. It’s something that I’ve been struggling with so I will be painfully transparent. I pray this helps someone. 

I was recently writing down some lessons that I’ve learned in the two years that I have been at home and in youth ministry. The Lord has been faithful to reveal my weaknesses and give me the blessings of some ministry “victories”. While writing the list, I wrote something down subconsciously and was surprised when I saw it. I just sat and stared at it for awhile. I wrote: “Never try to save them; it’s not your job.” 

Hi, name is Tyler, and my secret obsession is saving things that I shouldn’t because I want glory that doesn’t belong to me. 

Society’s thirst for the “perfect” man is insatiable. The media has found it profitable to construct and market male “archetypes” for mass consumption. So, every time there’s a radio single, movie, book or television show featuring these prototype men; ladies subconsciously float off into fantasy land and dream. And let’s be clear, I am NOT blaming them. The problem is, we men know this. We see women coo on twitter and facebook about their favorite famous men and start to mentally stack ourselves against him, comparing our attributes with his. “He’s not all that” or “Look at his alligator arms” or “He cant even talk right”, etc etc (We are an incredibly insecure species…but keep that between you and me). All we want is to be a savior just like they are. And it doesn’t just apply in a romantic sphere either. There is a huge temptation for this comparison in every field of life

But for the sake of illustration, let’s use the Twilight series as an example. Now, while I could spend time making fun of it, I won’t (We’ll save that for later). Let’s just observe the plot of the books/movies. Two archetype males with different personalities are fighting for the opportunity to save one attractive young woman. Now, is there ever a question of whether or not she will be saved?? Oh no, the question is, which one will she choose? Her salvation is never in doubt; it’s just a matter of who will do the saving. 

Let me make this clear: Men, we are NOT meant to save anyone. 

…Okay, that was freeing. Do you realize how much we spread ourselves thin with the responsibility of being everything every person would ever need? We feel the need to be responsible for saving our families from being broken and our siblings from being rebellious. We feel the need to be the ideal man for women and save their lonely hearts and mistaken views of manhood. We feel the pressure to say “Yes” to everything on our jobs and never take time off so we won’t ever be called “lazy”. We feel the need to master the latest ministry/theological concept so that we can prove we’re “successful”. And some man may say, “I don’t feel that way!” Oh, you do. You have either embraced it as what you must do or decided that you can’t pull it off. But either way, you feel it. 

There is so much danger in this philosophy, and I can personally attest to how damaging it is. Burden, sacrifice and responsibility are great things for a man to strive for. But if we forget our humanity, we will ruin ourselves and the ones we love most. We are broken creatures. No amount of weightlifting and education will repair our wicked hearts. There is not a measure of charm humanly possible that can overcome all of our immaturity. We are human, and God loves reminding us of that. 

Recently, I had the pleasure of ministering with my little brother in the faith, Ashton Woods. We were scheduled to rap at a Gospel explosion for our church family and local believers. We were pumped and felt strongly about pointing all glory to God through the artistic gifts He blessed us with. The only problem is, on a difficulty scale of 1-10, the verses we wrote were a 12. It was the hardest thing we’d ever done by far. But come on, we can handle it right? We get up, and the crowd is into it, worshiping God with hands raised. Ashton kills it as usual, and I’m up next. I was ready to dive in and…I tanked. I mean, I face-planted; didn’t even get to the end of the second bar. It was horrifying and embarrassing to go blank in front of people who were counting on me. I failed them. In that humbling moment, the Lord reminded me that His glory surpasses me. His “strength is made perfect in my weakness.” (2 Corinthians 12:9) Why was I distraught? Because I failed. But does He ever fail? He never forgets. He never stutters. He never has even a moment of weakness. 

John Piper put it like this in a recent sermon: “The Giver gets the gift. Don’t rob Him. Stay needy!” Needy…is that on our list of masculine attributes? Men, we need to need Him. We are just a means of pointing others to the One who will satisfy every issue and longing they have. We are not the end. We will fail miserably and fall short. But when we are long gone, He will remain! When we have failed, failure is never even a question for Him. We are not saviors, never will be. But we know the One who does. Be needy, men. Point them to Christ, not you.